Renovations at the Klarenstraat
The apartment building from 1956 at the UJ Klarenstraat in Amsterdam Slotervaart has been drastically transformed by a group of buyers into a residential building with a highly varied programme. Vanschagen Architects advised the thirty buyers in the development of the project, its design and its realisation. After the transformation the thirty sustainable houses will vary from 430 to 2045 square feet.
It is the first post-war apartment block in the Netherlands that has been renovated by collective private commissioning. The project illustrates the new forms of development and its meaning for the role of the designer. It sheds light on the possibilities of the post-war supply, on new ways of urban development and on the growing appreciation for heritage built after the Second World War. Participation and freedom have resulted in a building that accommodates not only thirty unique houses but also enthusiasm, inventiveness and creativity.
Photos: Rufus de Vries